Air pollution in Singapore soared to record heights for a third consecutive day Friday and Indonesia increases effort to battle raging fires blamed for hazardous levels of smoky haze in three countries.

A border security amendment to the Senate immigration bill would still let people living in the U.S. illegally seek provisional legal status, but they would not be able to obtain green cards until the security goals are met. This and more.

Larry and KPCC critics Wade Major, Henry Sheehan, and Charles Solomon review this week’s releases, including World War Z, Monsters University, Unfinished Song and more. TGI-Filmweek! Then, director Jason Wise and Master Sommelier Brian McClintic talk about what it takes to become a wine master. The documentary on the subject, Somm, opens in theaters today.

AirTalk

After 12 years, Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc” is releasing its prequel, “Monsters University.” The new director of the Monster legacy, Dan Scanlon, and producer Kori Rae join AirTalk to give an insider’s look into the making of “Monsters University,” the history of Pixar and the dynamics between Crystal and Goodman.

Carie Charlesworth, a second grade teacher at Holy Trinity Catholic School, was fired from her job because she was deemed a "liability" after her ex-husband Martin Charlesworth violated restraining orders by driving next to the school’s campus.

Two Republican senators drafted a proposal yesterday that might encourage others in their party to vote for the immigration bill. The senate is considering a $30 billion plan to enhance border security by adding fencing, nearly tripling the number of drones, and adding 20,000 new border patrol agents.

There are four levels of sommeliers, also known as Somms, and only those who pass the highest exam are known as master sommeliers. There are 133 Master Sommeliers in North America (201 worldwide). Of that number, 114 are men and 19 are women. Jason Wise’s new documentary, Somm, takes a look at what it takes to be a wine master.

A panel of three federal judges Thursday ordered California to start making plans to reduce the state’s prison population by nearly 10,000 inmates. How can the state effectively do this without risking public safety?

Take Two

Up north in the Carmel Valley an $84-million project to remove the San Clemente Dam is set to begin today. Built in 1921, the Dam that was designed to quench the thirst of the Monterey Penisula has grown old -- and potentially dangerous.

It was just one year ago that famed mobster Whitey Bulger was captured in his Santa Monica apartment. The outlaw had evaded authorities for 16 years. Bulger's trial got underway last week and linguist Ben Zimmer has been keeping an ear to the salty talk of former mob men.

Since 2009, the Obama administration has deported more than 1.5 million people, but even after being kicked out of the U.S., many have hopes of returning. Fronteras Desk reporter Adrian Florido visited a breakfast hall in Tijuana where many deportees try to figure out how to get back.

Cocktail connoisseurs take note. If you are a gin and tonic lover, better stock up on the gin while you can. Juniper berries — one of gin's most crucial ingredients — are falling prey to a fungal disease in the United Kingdom.

While many people think Jeffrey Skilling's sentence was actually too light, his sentence, and the way by which other so-called "white collar" criminals are punished, is something that legal scholars have been debating for years.